What's in the box - Alaska

Alaska may seem a long way away, but with new technology we are able to share information and talk face to face.

Late last year we were asked to send one of the indigenous cultural boxes over to Alaska for students from the Bering Strait School District. I combined content from the Art and Performance box with specimens from the Cultural history box to make up a kit that would give these students a great understanding of Australian Indigenous Culture.

The box stayed at the school for 3 months and then made it's journey back to Australia. To continue the relationship we recently arranged a time for the students to link up with Indigenous educator Laura McBride to learn more about indigenous cultures through art. With the help of the Distance and Rural technologies, part of the NSW Department of Education and Training we were able to video conference through Anchorage to the Bering Strait School District. Students were able to ask question throughout the workshop and each student painted a wooden boomerang creating a story through symbols and colour.

This was an amazing outreach opportunity to have a real time interaction across the globe and hopefully the first of many.